Huawei CFO arrest part of US ploy

Trying to sanction China through its firms: analyst

The speculation that the arrest of Huawei’s chief financial officer (CFO) Meng Wanzhou is part of US plans to target Chinese enterprises and entrepreneurs circulated Thursday on China’s social media.

Meng, the daughter of Huawei’s founder Ren Zhengfei, has been reportedly arrested in Canada on suspicion that she violated US trade sanctions against Iran.

On Sina Weibo, China’s Twitter-like social media platform, the hashtag #Hawei CFO Meng Wanzhou got arrested# has been viewed more than 140 million times with 58,000 comments as of press time.

“From the ZTE and Liu Qiangdong cases to the arrest of Meng Wanzhou, the US aims to sanction China through Chinese enterprises,” Zhou Guoqing, a commentator who has nearly 1.4 million followers and goes by Dianfengjuanke on Sina Weibo, told the Global Times on Thursday.

The US wants to tarnish the image of Chinese enterprises and entrepreneurs by hitting Chinese companies that have started or intend to start a business in the US, Zhou said in a post on Weibo on Thursday.

Many Weibo users echoed Zhou’s sentiments, slamming the US for playing “dirty tricks” on China, while urging the US and Canada to release Meng.

“US tricks can create some trouble for China but will not stop the pace of China’s development in 5G technology,” Weibo user Zhanhao said.

On the Canadian Embassy’s Weibo account, Chinese netizens wondered “if Canada is a sovereign country, or just a hired gun for the US.”

“Let go of Meng already,” some Net users wrote.

“Is the US that afraid of a rising China? I used to admire her as a great nation. But she has become nothing but a ganster,” wrote a Weibo user.

Twitter and Facebook users also asked if the US government can arrest a foreigner on unfounded accusations .

“Imagine being so arrogant that you think you can arrest citizens from another country for ‘violating’ sanctions you’ve placed on a third country,” said Facebook user Eoin Mac.

Ni Feng, a deputy director of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences’ Institute of American Studies, told the Global Times on Thursday that Meng’s arrest is part of the US’ focus on Chinese high-tech enterprises.

“US is using its ‘long-arm jurisdiction’ to take direct action against Chinese enterprises,” Ni said.

In April, the US prohibited domestic companies from selling components to ZTE for seven years, saying ZTE allegedly violated an agreement reached with the US government by illegally selling products to Iran.

Liu, the founder and CEO of Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com, was arrested in Minneapolis in August for raping. Although he was released and returned to China soon, an investigation into the case remains active.

Liu’s case reminded net users of the failed prosecution of Dominique Strauss-Kahn, head of the International Monetary Fund, for allegedly raping a hotel maid in 2011, which was reportedly a US government move, after Kahn discovered that all of the gold held in the US Bullion Depository at Fort Knox was missing.